The Following: Serenade
by darkreaper215
Summary: Takes place during Episode 10: "Guilt." Jacob has returned and is settling into the house as best he can. With the death of Paul and his anger at Emma ready to unleash at any given time, he is trying to get himself together and figure out who he really is. Then, he hears the sirens call from a man that could change everything for him. Jacob/OMC


**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I wish, I don't own _The Following _or the characters in it. I might own the original character I created, but I don't know how much merit that holds. This is also a gay-ish love story between Jacob and the original character, so if you don't like it…well you know what to do.

Standing in the middle of the living room of the sky rise apartment, with the sounds the bow made as he skidded it across the strings of the violin in fluid, elegant motions, he was in an ecstasy that he hadn't experienced in a while. The light of the full moon as it cascaded into the apartment was his only source of light, which only added to the serene filling he was in. It had been a while since inspiration had hit him, since he was able to look at that certain someone, his muse if you will, and hear the music, the masterpiece that they had hiding underneath the surface. This particular muse, oh had they been something special. The song they had made, had to be the best song that he could have ever played. He could stand here for hours, playing the sounds he heard, the notes he saw being written before his eyes. However, his recital was interrupted when he heard the phone go off in his pocket. Reluctantly, he laid the bow and the violin back in their respected case and pulled out his phone.

Checking the main screen, he saw that he had received a text message from an unknown sender. Going into his text, he scanned the message that had been sent to him. Flashing on the screen, in two simples words, he read 'It's time.' Sighing to himself, realizing that his recital had drawn to a close earlier than he would have liked, he put his phone back into his pocket and closed his violin case. As he did so, he continued to hum the music in his head, making damn sure that he didn't lose any part of his inspiration due to this minor setback. Picking up his violin case, he made his way towards the front door, taking great measures not to step on the dead body of the apartment's tenant; or any of the blood that might have scattered around the floor. He had already burned the clothes he had originally worn into the apartment that he had killed them in, and washed whatever blood had gotten on him while also taking great cares to make sure no evidence was left behind. Closing the door behind him, locking it with the key he had found hidden on top of the front door's door frame, a little something he had only discovered, as he was checking out the building and the hallway, when the tenant was out and one of their friends had stopped by and had to enter in, placing it back up there after he had wiped his prints off of it, and made his way down the hallway. As he did so, the humming he had done in the apartment was now a whistle.

F:S

Have you ever had it to where something was happening around you, such as somebody was talking or a car alarm was going off, and it somehow morphed in with your dream, diluting the line between fantasy and reality, that was what had happened to Joey Matthews before he had woken up. He was having a dream about his mom. In it, she had taken him to the park that was close to their house, and they were playing together on the playground. They bounced from playing on the swings, to sliding down the slide together, to them playing hide and seek; she was the seeker while he was the hider. As he was hiding, he began to hear the sound of something in the woods. He knew it wasn't an animal, because it didn't sound like any sound he could imagine an animal making. It sounded like music almost. It didn't frighten him or anything of that nature; in fact it sounded, peaceful. He felt calmed by it, almost as if he was wrapped up in his mom's arms and could feel her next to him. As he heard it continue to play, he could feel himself in his dream falling asleep. As he was falling asleep in dream land, he could feel himself waking up in the reality he was in.

Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted by the bright rays of the sun seeping thru the curtains and the familiar room he had grown accustomed too in the house his dad and his dad's friends stayed in. It wasn't a bad room, or a bad house for that matter. Everyone he met had been really nice to him. Emma was here with him, so he felt a little bit better knowing he had at least one friend here with him, even though she hadn't been as good of a friend and she had been back at his mom's house. Even his dad was a pretty nice. They had shared smores together a few nights ago and had actually spent some time getting to know each other better. Joey found out that they both liked all the same books, except for _Robinson Crusoe_. It was weird, Joey knew that his dad wasn't a good guy for all the things that he had done, but he wasn't sure if he was as bad of a person as his mom and everybody else had made him out to be. He thought, why would his dad have so many friends saying he wasn't such a bad person if it wasn't true.

Sitting up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Joey stretched out his body and tried to get out of the sleepiness that still lingered in him. As he did so, he listened to his surroundings and soon discovered that he didn't hear any music playing like he had heard in his dream. Shrugging it off as just having a very valid dream, Joey stepped onto the cold, wood floor and made his way towards the bathroom.

After flushing and washing his hands, he stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Before he could even begin to decide what he was going to do now that he was awake, his stomach made the decision for him. He checked the clock that was on the nightstand beside his bed. The time read 7:45. Normally Emma or Jacob didn't wake him up till about 8 or 8:30, so he figured he could wait a little while for one of them to come and get him. He was really happy Jacob had come back; he really liked Jacob. He wasn't really sure why he was mad at Emma, and we he had asked Jacob why he was, Jacob just ruffled his hair and said it wasn't anything to worry about, just grown up issues. He hated when people told him that. He knew that he might not be old enough to understand some of the things they were talking about, but he still knew enough to know some of the issues that grownups went through. He just wished they didn't treat him like a little baby or something.

He went over to the bookshelf in his room and picked out a book he wanted to read. Crawling back into bed, pulling the sheets up enough so that his legs were hidden underneath the sheets, he flipped open the book and began to read the first.

Not even a paragraph in, he heard the music in his dream again. This time, it was a little bit louder and it sounded close. Closing his book and hopping out of bed, he made his way out of his room and down the hallway, following the music as it got louder and louder. He figured, if he was able to hear it in his dream, it had to mean something significant.

He made his way down to the first floor of the house and down another hallway, till he reached the door that led him into the playroom, or the lounge he remembered Emma calling it. Basically it was the room he knew everyone went to when they wanted to be with their friends and play games with each other. It was behind that door, that he heard the music playing. Checking the doorknob, he realized that the door wasn't locked. Turning it slowly, he peaked his head in the room. When he did, he saw where the music was coming from.

Standing in the middle of the room, playing some kind of instrument that Joey hadn't seen before, was a man about Jacob's height. He had dirty blonder hair, very pale skin, what was visible anyway almost reminding Joey of a vampire from everything he heard about them having pale skin, and he looked like he was skinny. He was dressed rather nicely from what Joey could tell, almost like his dad had dressed in pictures he had seen when he had been a teacher. His mom wasn't really happy when he had found pictures of his dad, but it had at least helped her open more about him. Not much, but a little. His back was turned to Joey, so he wasn't able to see the man's face. Still, whatever he was playing on, it sounded really pretty.

Sneaking into the room a little bit more, Joey quietly closed the door behind him. Obviously, he didn't close it as quietly as he thought he had, especially when the guy said, as he continued playing, "You know it is very rude to sneak up on people."

Joey stopped in his tracks and stared at the man like a deer in headlights, "I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I just heard the sound from my room and wanted to see what it was."

The man stopped playing and turned around to face Joey. The first thing Joey noticed, was that he had the bluest eyes that Joey had ever seen on a person. They almost reminded him of a pair of sapphire earrings his mom had in her jewelry box. She never wore them because dad had given them to her, but she couldn't bring herself to getting rid of them either, least that it what she told him when he asked her.

"I didn't wake you did I?" He asked, putting the instrument he had been playing down by his side.

"A little," Joey said, not trying to sound rude but not wanting to lie to him either.

"Oh dear," The man said, his eyes showing concern in them, "I do apologize. I find that the only time I am able to play properly is early in the morning and I do my very best not to disturb anyone who lives here. Unfortunately, I sometimes get so swept up in the music that I forget where I am and forget my manners."

"It's okay," Joey said, putting a smile on his face to help reassure the man.

"Well I still apologize and I will keep it down. A boy like you needs all the sleep he can get so he can be well rested and enjoy the wonderful fall weather we are having." The man said, putting a smile on his face as well.

"What is that you are playing on, if you don't mind me asking?"

"This?" The man asked, holding up the instrument in his hand. "This is a violin."

"What about the stick?"

The man laughed slightly, "It's kind of like a stick isn't it. Actually it is a bow. I glide it across the strings and it helps create sound."

He slid the bow across the strings to emphasize his point for Joey.

"Oh," Joey exclaimed, understanding it now.

"Would you like for me to continue?" The man asked, placing the violin back in its proper position and holding the bow above the violin.

"Would you mind?" Joey asked, smiling again. "I liked it."

The man smiled, "That's what I like to hear. Please sit first and make yourself comfortable."

As quickly as he could, Joey found a chair close to the man and sat in it.

"Ready?" The man asked Joey, his response was Joey shaking his head yes.

Sliding the bow across the strings once again, the man began to play the same song that Joey had heard in his dream. Immediately, it brought back the dream he had been having where he was playing with his mom at the park. Joey closed his eyes and thought about that dream, trying not to lose it, and the happiness it had brought him. Without knowing it, another smile formed on his face. The man smiled to himself when he saw Joey smiling. The son of Joe Carroll liked his playing and seemed to be slowly warming up to him; this might work to his advantage.

Author's Note: So this is my first fanfiction in almost three years, give or take. I came up with this idea while watching an episode of _Hannibal_ on day (It was the episode with the violin, or was it bass, teacher in case anyone is interested in knowing). I thought to myself, after rewatching an episode of _The Following_, "what if Joe Carroll had a follower that was just as deadly, if not slightly deadlier than him" since in the Hannibal episode, the violin teacher is just as deadly as Hannibal is. Thus this story began to bloom in my brain and expanded until I could nothing but write it down. I meant for this chapter to be longer, and most of them will be longer than this, but I just wanted to throw this chapter out there asap and see what you think of it. Let me know in the reviews and comments below. Love and peace. :D


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